OK, so I'm driving away from Alki Beach in West Seattle yesterday afternoon, me and the kids all worn out and sandy from mucking about in the surf (yep, another one of those great days in the middle of winter, that we try not to talk about too much).
And there, parked in front of the Alki Bakery is a.......stretch Hummer. I must not get out enough, because although I've seen Hummers, I don't recall having seen, or even knowing about, stretch Hummers. This thing took up about half a city block or so.
I'm a free-market capitalist, and I think most rich folks who didn't inherit their money probably earned it. I bear them no grudge at all. As for "regular"-sized civilian Hummers here in Seattle, and elsewhere, I don't get bent out of shape about them, the way some sensitive folks do.
But.
A.
Line.
Has.
Been.
Crossed.
I'm appalled at the sight and the very idea of stretch Hummer limos, and was reminded quickly that it's not actual rich people who ride around in them, but essentially, Yahoos.
I had slowed down to gape and was thinking I might park, get out and find out who either owned or had rented this gross montrosity, and why, when a young woman in the back seat leaned out the window and stated to me, "you want to get in, but you can't afford it."
Yeah, right, dollycakes.
Now, it's true I used to drive a limo, a way back when, in Chicago. A stretch burgundy Lincoln, in fact, but about half the length of the stretch Hummer I saw yesterday. And it had....a built-in 8-track player in back. Yeh, baby.
We do odd things when we're 22. But one thing I liked about Seattle when I moved here 10 years ago, was the laid-back pace and low-key customs. Hey, you could barely spot a limo of ANY sort in Seattle in the mid-90s. That sort of ostentation was considered low-class, and I can appreciate why, even if now we must bear poltroons with Miami sensibilities here.
So, let me put it plainly: Ya wanna ride around in a stretch Hummer, DO IT IN L.A.!
Coming soon: Botox parties in (parked) stretch Hummers.
Posted by Matt Rosenberg at January 22, 2005 03:50 PM
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I, too, think someone should be able to spend his money as he sees fits. But I have never understood the concept of stretch-SUV limos.
What next, cavier TV dinners?
Posted by: RadioMattM at January 22, 2005 06:47 PMI think I've seen that ridiculous vehicle!
I had pretty much the same reaction you had, Matt. It's over the top and doesn't fit with Seattle. I am not a fan of the psuedo-friendly stand-off-ishness of Seattle, but I do like its low-key nature.
I drive a SUV and I feel a little guilty sometimes about it, in fact. I actually would prefer to drive a regular sized sedan, and I used to, but I got tired of being pinched between environmentalists driving their SUVs.
I'll keep driving the SUV, probably much longer than I had originally planned because of the absurd monorail tax, but you'll never catch me in that stretch Hummer!
Posted by: Iguana at January 22, 2005 10:12 PMIncidentally, there are lots of places that make stretch hummers. I know of one place specifically in LA that makes them. Due to a professional relationship with the company, I've been in their strech hummers at the factory. They're certainly something else. Seating for like 20 people (no joke), 4 flat-screen LCD TVs, fiber-optics in the ceiling... But really it's no more wasteful than a private jet, wouldn't you say?
If you're interested in seeing the inside, check it out:
- inside facing back: http://tinyurl.com/5zoyt
- inside facing forward: http://tinyurl.com/6b8jy
- inside front corner: http://tinyurl.com/3uxln
- outside from back: http://tinyurl.com/5mcdp
I don't have any problem with a HUMMER limo or any other legal product on which people wish to spend money.
Some of you may remember what I said at the blogger bash: America is not about "need," it's about "want."
I like it here, because I am free to carry large guns, eat lots of red meat, print only on one side of thick, expensive paper and burn 92 octane gas by the gallons in my big-engined, little red car.
There is no excuse for the rudeness to which Matt R. was subjected, but I am not envious of people with money or of the many weird ways with which they spend it.
If someone wants to buy or rent a 20-seat SUV limo, more power to him. He generates economy.
Posted by: James J. Na at February 12, 2005 09:18 AMget this they have hummer h2 limos with lighted dance floors now http://www.firstclasslimos.net
Posted by: hummer h2 limos at April 25, 2005 11:43 AM